The Family That Eats Together Stays Together
By Jennifer Hahn
You often hear that families should
eat together. What evidence is there that this is a good thing?
A recent study suggests that family meals might increase adolescents’
well-being. Middle school (n=1608) and high school (n=3074) students,
ages 11 to 18, completed surveys. The frequency of family meals,
level of family connectedness, academic performance, substance
use, self-esteem, depressions, suicidal thoughts and suicidal
attempts were assessed.
About one-quarter (26.8%) of students
indicated they ate seven or more meals with their families in
the past week. About one-third (33.1%) reported never eating together
as a family or only doing so one to two times per week.
Frequency of family meals was related
to many variables. For boys, greater frequency of family meals
was associated with lower frequencies of cigarette use, alcohol
use and marijuana use, as well as less depression. For girls,
greater frequency of family meals was associated with lower frequencies
of cigarette, alcohol and marijuana use, as well as higher grade
point averages, lower depression and lower likelihoods of suicidal
thoughts or attempts.
Family connectedness was controlled
for (meaning that it could not be responsible for the associations),
since family connectedness itself was related to family meal frequency.
Family connectedness was assessed by asking teenagers how much
one’s father and mother care about them and whether they
feel they can talk to their parents about their problems.
Source: Eisenberg, M.E., et al.
August 2004, Correlations between family meals and psychosocial
well-being among adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent
Medicine, 158, 792-796.
© Jennifer Hahn
NFO
contributor Dr. Jennifer Hahn is the editor of The
Thinking Parent, a quarterly publication reviewing research
of interest to parents: child development and parenting, pregnancy
and childbirth, physical health, mental health and education.
With more than 12 years of experience in research at the Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Hahn received her Ph.D. from the
University of Maryland Baltimore County and completed her residency
at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center. She is the
mother of two daughters.
